Option to turn off step count (or add "Driving Mode") to avoid erroneous steps/floors

[MacWade]

I just got home yesterday from a driving 6 hours in my car and I checked my Fitbit. I was really suprised to see it had given me almost 8,000 steps, 3.24 miles, 134 floors, & way more calories thank I burned while I was sitting in my car.  I looked on the forum to see how to easily delete the steps, miles, floors, and calories so my data would be accurate.  The only way people are fixing it is by manually logging the activity "Automobile or light truck (not a semi) driving" and entering in the duration.  I think that is a cumbersome way to fix the issue everytime I drive because I have to make sure I write down what time I get into and out of my car so I know the start time and duration.  And how does it automatically know the calories burned when everyone burns calories when they are sedentary at different rates.

I think they should add a "Drive Mode" feature that when turned on it won't add steps, distance, floors, & will only add calories burned equal to you sitting in a chair.

You could access the "Drive Mode" either on your Fitbit One or on your phone app to turn it on/off.  If you have a Fitbit One you could press the button till the "Drive Mode" icon appears then hold the button down for 2 seconds to turn it on or off.

On the phone apps you would just go to your device under "Account" and there you could turn it on or off.

You could also have the option to give you an alert when you unlock the phone that reminds you that it is in "Drive Mode" so you don't forget to turn it off when you get to your destination.  It would also be cool if you could use Siri to turn it on by saying "Turn on Fitbit Drive Mode" or "Turn off Fitbit Drive Mode".

[LThdwYm4]

Does it not even have an "off" button!?

[LThdwYm4]

Or... here's an idea... how about an "off" button!?

[wshrdskin]

No it's always on. You can add walking as one of your exercises and track your steps there for a more accurate count. Doesn't help for every day tasks but.

[Synchro2003]

Hi all, just wanted to let everyone know that I have recently had to start wearing my fitbit on my ankle due to my job role. I've just tested the same drive home I usually do (without drive bit on) which usually adds around 70p steps and 10 flights of stairs. I wore it on my right leg and it didn't add any steps or stairs what so ever!! I know we shouldn't have to do this but since we cannot rely on 

[MIG86]

Hi! I´m a new fitbit user and I was really dissapointed when I noticed this issue. I had heard that while driving it would count some steps, but I wasn´t thinking it could be 500 steps and 5 flight of stairs for a 20 min drive. 

I´ve seen there is a proposal to add a "driving" button or something similar since 2014 and nothing has been done. It is really sad as I was expecting steps to be accurate at least. I understand that the algorithm might not be perfect, but I don´t think anything is being done as this issue comes from years ago. 

I have also try to record the "driving" in the dashboard as suggested, but  I don´t know if it is because I´m using it in spanish that it doesn´t appear ("driving" or the spanish world). 

I´m really hopefull that this is resolved fast and that I don´t ecounter more "extreme innacuracy" while using it. 

[Lilbiddy]

I think fitbits idea of fast is about the same as tectonic shift. So many old problems linger on while they seem to just keep adding new ones.

[SunsetRunner]

Glad that worked for you!
I have switched to garmin vivosmart 4 and no longer have those issues. Returning theFitbit.

Sent from my iPhone

[LThdwYm4]

"I think fitbits idea of fast is about the same as tectonic shift. So many old problems linger on while they seem to just keep adding new ones."

It's truly incredible that like Apple Health integration they just simply refuse to do it.  These two things are very simple fixes. Even more ridiculous, some devices like the charge3 do not have an OFF button!

[SunsetRunner]

So far am finding Garmin Vivosmart 4 much better - no driving recorded. Will return Charge 3 to REI. I so
appreciate their return policy (90 days for electronics) so one can be certain whether an item is useful and workable! Yay REI. Fitbit not so much.

Sent from my iPhone

[OmuGuy]

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@MacWade wrote:

I just got home yesterday from a driving 6 hours in my car and I checked my Fitbit. I was really suprised to see it had given me almost 8,000 steps, 3.24 miles, 134 floors, & way more calories thank I burned while I was sitting in my car.  I looked on the forum to see how to easily delete the steps, miles, floors, and calories so my data would be accurate...

You could access the "Drive Mode" either on your Fitbit One or on your phone app to turn it on/off.  If you have a Fitbit One you could press the button till the "Drive Mode" icon appears then hold the button down for 2 seconds to turn it on or off.

---

Some way of turning off the device would better than what we have now. 
Maybe I am too amateur to realize the problems involved, but it seems to me that it is currently possible to actually autorecognize motorized motion, either during or after the event, all you need are filters (algorithms) developed from sample data. Faffing around with switching on and off is not something we should have to do. 
I made a suggestion to 'autorecognize motorized motion' for LATEST device Charge 3. 
Are these forums just the FitBit way of handling discontented users?
The company seem to go its own sweet way, more interetested in developing or not (SPO2) new features than in making reliable fitness trackers.

[LThdwYm4]

"Maybe I am too amateur to realize the problems involved, but it seems to me that it is currently possible to actually autorecognize motorized motion, either during or after the event, all you need are filters (algorithms) developed from sample data. Faffing around with switching on and off is not something we should have to do. "

It is possible, many smart phones have been doing it for years.  It's either bad design or bad software or both. 

[Steve_1]

Yes wasted money better trackers are available now! I ll make no mistake
next time

[klmvishnu]

Recently i met with an accident where my car hit an electric post, as i fell asleep .

Since fitbit tracks heart beat and sleep.You could come up with a software upgrade which could alert the driver through vibration if he falls asleep during driving.

# Driver mode to be included in the main menu which can be activated by the person .

# fitbit band will vibrate vigourously if the person's heartbeat slows down.

Eventhough i am not an it engineer and with my very minimal knowledge in programming , i think this upgrade can be easily implemented by fitbit's developer team.

..........

[LThdwYm4]

Since nobody seems interested in creating a driving mode (or even an off button on some devices), could you at least stop counting driving as exercise?  Logging driving to negate falsely logged steps itself shows up as "exercise" and trips the daily exercise goal.  This is a know issue for five+ years. 

[LThdwYm4]

Or alternatively only count floors when the user has indicated that they are actively doing an activity related to "climbing" (i.e. opt-in mode).  This feature is woefully inaccurate and it appears to be a design flaw.  If "wind" throws it off, there is always going to be a problem.  This stat is basically meaningless and this is a know issue for years and it remains an issue today.

[Jakob_Freitag.1]

 Can you please offer a diffrent way to delete steps than by creating a "Driving" activity for a specific time. Yesterday I removed a wallpaper from a wall and the Versa counted many steps. So I had to create Driving activity to overwrite the steps. Is the Driving activity the only activity that overwrites the steps?

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @LThdwYm4! Great suggestion, thanks for sharing your idea. I've moved it into a similar request. I think that a lot a users would like to have this option on their trackers.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Jakob_Freitag.1! Great suggestion, thanks for sharing your idea. I've moved it into a similar request. They are talking about deleting steps too. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs.

[Dylan81]

I agree, this should be a simple fix. Either add to the apps on the fitness itself or on the mobile app. It would be much more helpful than a weather app.

[Tbowers]

This driver mode on the Fitbit itself (or at least the app) would be a fantastic addition. PLEASE ADD!

[Vibhor]

I changed my fitbit for Samsung watch.. it's a great product as soon as u
start riding motorbike..it calculates it as a bike ride without counting
any false steps and after you finish riding simply delete that workout..you
can do that at the end of the day also..

[SetxSpyder]

Thanks for your input.  Fitbit used to be a quality product... the fact that they wont address a huge problem for years is fact that it's all about sales.  If there was only a way to make this publicly known in social media where it affects sales, maybe they would address it.

[MartinJar]

I agree 100%. Apparently the only thing that will get them to fix it is when it hurts their profit. I’ve been telling everyone that ask me to not buy a Fitbit because of this issue

Sent from my iPhone

[Stevenew]

Name and Shame is likely the only way to go - I have given an honest, but poor review on every site I can find including Amazon where the goods were bought. Every time I get asked about them - I point people to this forum and thread which I wish I had saw before investing in something that shhould work but does not.

On reporting the fault - they did not even put their hands up - instead rabbited on about accelerometers which is omething I feel I know more about than the person dealing with the support issue. From what I can see - it is not hardware - it is their AI that is not learning or being at all sensible - after all - who can walk at 70MPH!

I also note that there is no threading in this forum so no replies to other peoples posts! Also quite pathetic.

FitBit are definitely resting on their laurels - off to find other review sites and see ifd they can be shamed into action. They are on trustpilot.

[Ton]

Speaking social, how about Facebook and Twitter, guys?

For USA:
FB is Fitbit Original USA Brand
Twitter is @Fitbit

For UK:
FB is Fitbit UK & Ireland
Twitter is @FitbitUK